Piaget was a progenitor of construcivist philosophy. He posited that knowledge is constructed subjectively by the individual via active means. In the child, he believed that developmental advances occurred independently of the acquisition of knowledge. Therefore, the child's level of intellectual development restricted the levels of learning he or she would be able to achieve.
Piaget developed a clinical investigation model which was far more qualitative in nature than the standard American research practices of the time. This meticulous observation and questioning model is still derided by some to this day. However, the information gleaned as a result of this process caused scholars to closely examine using quantitative analyses alone.
Piaget saw language as a marker of development, not a function which produced intellectual growth.
Piaget developed the concept of schemata, a symbolic representation of ideas in relationship to other closely related ideas. This framework allows us to understand how learning might occur relative to pre-existing concepts in the mind and how the individual might either alter his or her understanding of reality or reject such modification such that the external stimulus would change relative to the current state of his or her construction.
Q2: What are the linkages between Piaget and James?
Both scholars were very concerned with and described a specific structure to child development with regard to learning. Moreover, the structure of both positions is predicated upon development characteristics of individuals at a certain age. In other words, teachers should be aware of these life stages in order to introduce stimuli which will encourage the interest and engagement of their students. Toward that end, I highlight some of the precepts presented by both James and Piaget.
1) Both scholars posit that learning is an active process, invoking mental faculties for the purpose of sensor-motor activities so that the individual may better understand his or her environment. Consider these quotes:
2) The acquisition of new knowledge requires that the individual link new concepts to currently held concepts in a way that creates meaning.
James called this process apperception:
Piaget introduced the concept of adaptation. Simply stated, in order for an individual to adapt to his or her environment, he or she should reach a state of equilbrium relative to the knowledge currently possessed. In order for this to happen, when presented with new information, the individual either accomodates the concept, and thereby uncomfortably expands his or her range of understanding or assimilates the concept into his or her current understanding.
3) Both James and Piaget understood that certain behaviors are emblematic of development stages and that learning does not duly further development.
James used the tern native reactions to describe the developmental underpinnings of pedagogy:
Piaget also concerned himself with a child's development. His Stage Theory presented abilities corresponding to the general age of the child and by the learning that occurs (Lefrançois p. 243-244).
Lefrançois, G. R. (2005). Theories of human learning: What the old woman said(5th ed.). Thomson
Q3: What would authors Duckworth and Airasian and Walsh have to say about the learning environment in which Bart was placed?
Both scholars were very concerned with and described a specific structure to child development with regard to learning. Moreover, the structure of both positions is predicated upon development characteristics of individuals at a certain age. In other words, teachers should be aware of these life stages in order to introduce stimuli which will encourage the interest and engagement of their students. Toward that end, I highlight some of the precepts presented by both James and Piaget.
1) Both scholars posit that learning is an active process, invoking mental faculties for the purpose of sensor-motor activities so that the individual may better understand his or her environment. Consider these quotes:
"But the brain, so far as we understand it, is given us for practical behavior. Every current that runs into it from skin or eye or ear runs out again into muscles, glands, or viscera, and helps to adapt the animal to the environment from which the current came. It therefore generalizes and simplifies our view to treat the brain life and the mental life as having one fundamental kind of purpose" (James, p.)James understood something that Piaget would write about for much of his career; intelligence, or the fluid capacity to learn is based upon activity and interaction for the purposes of adapting to one's environment (Lefrançois, 2005 p. 29.)
2) The acquisition of new knowledge requires that the individual link new concepts to currently held concepts in a way that creates meaning.
James called this process apperception:
"Every impression that comes in from without, be it a sentence which we hear, an object of vision, or an effluvium which assails our nose, no sooner enters our consciousness than it is drafted off in some determinate direction or other, making connection with the other materials already there, and finally producing what we call our reaction" (James, p. )
Piaget introduced the concept of adaptation. Simply stated, in order for an individual to adapt to his or her environment, he or she should reach a state of equilbrium relative to the knowledge currently possessed. In order for this to happen, when presented with new information, the individual either accomodates the concept, and thereby uncomfortably expands his or her range of understanding or assimilates the concept into his or her current understanding.
3) Both James and Piaget understood that certain behaviors are emblematic of development stages and that learning does not duly further development.
James used the tern native reactions to describe the developmental underpinnings of pedagogy:
The teacher's earliest appeals, therefore, must be through objects shown or acts performed or described. Theoretic curiosity, curiosity about the rational relations between things, can hardly be said to awake at all until adolescence is reached.
Piaget also concerned himself with a child's development. His Stage Theory presented abilities corresponding to the general age of the child and by the learning that occurs (Lefrançois p. 243-244).
References
Lefrançois, G. R. (2005). Theories of human learning: What the old woman said(5th ed.). Thomson
Q3: What would authors Duckworth and Airasian and Walsh have to say about the learning environment in which Bart was placed?
From my understanding of the readings to date, there are problems with both extremes of the interplay between cognitivism and constructivism. There is an overreliance on an IQ test relative to the types of behavior we consistently see out of Bart. These issues should have been addressed long before such a test was administered. In the fourth grade I remember taking such a test. We were a subset of the entire fourth grade, about ten to twenty percent of the class as I recall. We were told that if we performed well on this exam we would be able to take special classes. When it came time to form this gifted class, I remember feeling very sad that I was not selected. In fact, for me it was one of the catalyzing factors which demotivated me and where I began to intentionally underperform.
Airasian and Walsh warn us that learning necessitates the use of assessment measures; constructivism is not a "free-for-all" where the teacher does not have to set instructional goals:
"Implicit in any form of classroom instruction guided by any theory of learning is the need for standards and criteria of judgement" (1997, p. 448).In tandem with goals is present the need for specific and articulable assessment measures by which we can know if goals were met. Additionally, these also serve the student as he or she attempts to operate within the parameters given by the teacher.
In partial contrast to Airasian and Walsh, Duckworth's view of constructivism is much more traditional. As there is more theory present in this work than cogent presentation of a practical framework, she supports the use of an open environment where the onus of learning lies chiefly with the student. Duckworth states that schools must be willing to accept students' ideas and provide a setting where these ideas might easily come to fruition and actuation; schools should facilitate inquiry by expecting and encouraging the unexpected. I believe Bart might feel right at home in a school such as the one proposed by Duckworth (1996).
Q4: Explain the principal contributions of Vygotsky and compare his constructivist philosophy to that of Piaget
Lev Vygotsky's work culminated in a volume compiled and edited by Cole, John-Steiner, Scribner and Souberman (1978) some four decades after his death. The title Mind in Society itself serves as a summation of Vygotsky's principle thesis; Humans make meaning in order to serve society and derive significant developmental benefit as they are assisted by more knowledgeable individuals therein:
This thinking diverges from the scholarship of Piaget, who is not concerned with matters of the social process in learning and developmental stages. Piaget argued that children gain knowledge of social strata with regard to learning from their own individual constructions.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) simply stated says that learners will achieve best learning outcomes when material is targeted in a range between where they can learn on their own and where they are able to learn with the assistance of a more knowledgeable individual. This brings to light the concept of scaffolding. Just as when building a house, a more structured and assisted learning method is implemented. Then as students become more adept at a given concept, the support structure is gradually removed which allows students to learn on their own.
With regard to language, Vygotsky held the belief that language was derived from the social environment and greatly advanced the child's developmental capacity whereas Piaget maintained that spoken language is merely a symbolic function which signals one's development (Wadsworth, 1996).
"In experimental investigations of the development of thinking in school children, it has been assumed that processes such as deduction and understanding, evolution of notions about the world, interpretation of physical causality, and mastery of logical forms of thought and abstract logic all occur by themselves, without any influence from school learning" (p. 79-80).
This thinking diverges from the scholarship of Piaget, who is not concerned with matters of the social process in learning and developmental stages. Piaget argued that children gain knowledge of social strata with regard to learning from their own individual constructions.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) simply stated says that learners will achieve best learning outcomes when material is targeted in a range between where they can learn on their own and where they are able to learn with the assistance of a more knowledgeable individual. This brings to light the concept of scaffolding. Just as when building a house, a more structured and assisted learning method is implemented. Then as students become more adept at a given concept, the support structure is gradually removed which allows students to learn on their own.
With regard to language, Vygotsky held the belief that language was derived from the social environment and greatly advanced the child's developmental capacity whereas Piaget maintained that spoken language is merely a symbolic function which signals one's development (Wadsworth, 1996).
Excellent response, Chris.
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